Coaster type holder



Nov. 18, 1941.

E. J. DE HAVEN COASTER TYPE-HOLDER Filed May 20. 1939 Patented Nov. 18, 1941 UNITED STATE S PAT EN T OFFICE COASTER TYPE HOLDER Edward J. 'DeHaven, St. Joseph, Mich.

' ApplicationMayZO, 1939, Serial No.274,792

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a holder of the socalled coaster type for bottles or the like.

It has becomeincreasingly popular to serve cold drinks, particularly at wayside refreshment stands, directly from the bottle, and since the bottle is frequently kept in an iced-water tub, the bottle when removed is cold and damp and unpleasant to the touch. Furthermore, the drippings from the bottle unless protected will frequently drip upon the clothes of the customer.

A common practice is for the server to wrap a conventional paper napkin about the bottom of the bottle, before handing it to the customer,

by which the customer can grasp the bottle and which-protects the hand of the customer.

The use of paper napkins for this purpose is not entirely satisfactory, since a napkin tends to drop off, conceals the lower end of the bottle so that the customer cannot readily see how much of the beverage is remaining when a greater part of it has been consumed, and in addition has a generally make-shift appearance.

The present invention aims toprovide a device for this purpose which does not have the 0bjectionable features of the paper nap-kin and which can be made and sold for a trifling cost, thus enhancing both the efficiency and economy of the device.

Other objects and advantages will be apparentfrom the following description, taken together with the accompanying, drawing, which- Figure 1 shows a preferred form of the device associated with a conventional beverage container;

Figure 2 shows the blanks used in the pre ferred form as initially produced, but slightly reduced in size from Fig. l

Figure 3 is a front elevational View of the device as formed from the blank of Fig. 2, somewhat enlarged;

Figure 4 is a tilted perspective View of the structure of Fig. 3; and

Figure 5 is a partial axial'section of the lower end of the structure of Fig. ,1, still further enlarged.

Referring in detail to the illustrative construction shown in the drawing, the blank It is desirably of paper or paper-like sheet material and comprises a circular bottom member H and a side member [2. In this case the bottom and side member are initially integral, being joined together as at l3, although these parts might be cut initially separately if more convenient.

Next, in the practice of the present invention,

the side member I2 is formed about the bottom member H to form the cup-shaped device or socalled coaster, adjacent marginal, edges of the side member I2 and bottom member ll being suitably secured together, for example, as next described.

[As here shown, the side member 12 is preferably of oblong shape having the upper rounded corners l4 and its lower edge next adjacent the bottom member ll being cutinto short integral parallel strips or tongues 15 lying abreast of each other in the planeof theside member but separately movable with respect to each other and all readily bendable along the common line l6 where they are integral with the main part of the side member.

In accordance with the present invention, this lower edge of the side member 13 is of less length than the perimeter of the bottom member II. 'Thus, when the blank it is folded as shown in Fig. 3 and the tongues 15 all bent somewhat at a right-angle with respect to the main body of the side member 12 and adhered as by glue or the like to the bottom member H, the bottommember will naturally and desirably be distorted so that its marginal portion I! which is farthermost removed from the point H3 (or center of the side member I2) is drawn upwardly out of the normal plane of the bottom member a II by the tendency of the free edges it of the side member to spring apart. This tendency is further enhanced by the fact that the portion of the bottom margin ll which the tongues l5 fall short of is weaker than the remaining portion of the bottom member margin to which the tongues |5 are adhered, the tongues reinforcing and tending to somewhat stiffen the margin portion to which they are attached. This reinforcing or stiffening tendency, however, is desirably of progressively decreasing eiiect for the reasons pointed out in a direction approaching from the marginal point I3 toward the marginal point I1, thus contributing to permit the marginal portion IT to be distorted upwardly as described.

When now the cup-like device formed in accordance with the present invention and as when on the bottle tend to assume a somewhat parallel relationship as shown in Fig. 1 instead of the flared apart relationship shown in Figs.

3 and 4 when the bottle is absent. This desirably tends to make the coaster cling to the bottle when in use, although it may be readily re moved if desired by exerting the necessary pull thereon.

To enhance this snug clinging effect, the coaster may be initially made for standard sizes of bottles so that the bottom member II is, as best shown in Fig. 5, of slightly less diameter than the greatest overall diameter of the bottle adjacent its bottom wall, thus requiring a slight spring of the side member l2 as at 2| to receive the bottle fully therein.

The vertical slot formed at 22 between the free edges l8 of the side member of the coaster, when on the bottle, is advantageous in providing a sight opening by which it may be readily seen that the liquid contents of the bottle has been reduced to the level, say, 23, indicating the amount of beverage which is still remaining in the bottle.

The coaster of the present invention is well adapted to be used also for advertising purposes as by having display insignia such as for example at 24 and 25 on its side member I2, which may be advantageously printed thereon when the blank is in the flat as shown in Fig. 2.

Thus, a device of this type is provided which protects the hand of the customer from the touch of the bottle and also which catches drippings or the like from the bottle when the bottle is removed from its cooler and the coaster is first placed thereon, and the device made in accordance with the present invention permits ready insertion of the bottle therein but thereafter tends to advantageously cling to the bottle until removed while at the same time permitting the contents of the bottle to be observed down to the last drop thereof.

The flared shape of the device when not in use, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4,is further advantageous in that it permits nesting of the holders in large numbers in a comparatively small space.

Such changes may be made as fall within the scope of the following claims without departing from the invention.

I claim:

1. A device of the class described embodying a flexible bottom member and an initially oblong side member having its greater length less than the perimeter of said bottom member, the margin of said side member along said greater length and the margin of the bottom member being secured together whereby the bottom member is somewhat distorted upwardly between the ends of said side member and whereby the upper free corners of said side member tend to be constricted when the bottom member is pressed downwardly upon.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein the free ends of the side member tend to spring apart when the device is not in use and tend to be constricted when the device is in use by flattening of the bottom member.

3. A cup-shape device of the class described embodying a flexible resilient material comprising a circular bottom member and a side member formed about and following throughout its periphery the perimeter of the bottom member,

margins of said side member and said bottom member being secured together but said securement terminating short of the entire perimeter of said bottom member and said side member at ,said last mentioned point of said perimeter being free of attachment either to the bottom member or to itself whereby said side member is somewhat in the form of a split cylinder having free adjacent edges throughout its height.

4. A device of the class described embodying a flexible bottom member and a resilient side member secured along one edge to the perimeter of the bottom member and shaped to follow the cylindrical contour of a bottle or the like received therein, said side member having a pair of adjacent free edges transverse to the bottom member and unsecured to each other whereby the side member may contract or expand while still secured to the bottom member, the bottom member yielding to accommodate said contraction and expansion when the bottle is inserted in or removed therefrom.

EDWARD J. DE HAVEN. 

